Expert: Henry Boyter - 6/1/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hello Sir,
I am grateful that you have made yourself available to help others. I hope that you can help me.
My name is Sarah Mansfield, and I'm a mother who just wants to do laundry.
A few weeks ago, I started adding baking soda to my washloads to boost the efficiency of the laundry detergent. I have done this before with other detergents; however, with this new detergent, a noxious fume was created that is now stuck to all the laundry I did in this fashion. The fume is scentless, it burns our noses and throats and causes significant congestion, coughing, sneezing, throat constriction, itching eyes, and sinus headaches when exposed to it for extended periods of time. I have tried to get this out of out clothing and bedding with five different kinds of detergent, with vinegar, with hydrogen peroxide, with repeated rinses, and nothing has availed.
Do you have any idea what kind of chemical reaction could possibly have resulted from baking soda being combined with "free and clear" laundry detergent? Can you pinpoint a chemical that would cause such symptoms and be difficult to remove from fabric?
Thank you for taking the time to read my question. If you can solve this puzzle, I'll be much obliged, and send you cookies and cakes or organic fruit baskets.

Sincerely,
Sarah Mansfield

ANSWER: Tell me more about the "free and clear".  Is that the brand name?  Who is the manufacturer?  What type of washing machine are you using?  What is the water source for your washer?

There is nothing is a mix of baking soda and regular detergents that would cause this.  It sounds more like a machine or water problem.  Have you tried just a load of water with this detergent and baking soda and a load of water with your old detergent and baking soda.  We need more data.  Make your husband do it.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: "Free and clear" is the type of detergent, it is branded "Kirkland Signature", and is made by Huish, the same company that makes "All" and "Sun" products. It is called "Free and Clear" because it is made without dyes, phosphates, perfumes or fragrances. I use it because I am allergic to most synthetic fragrances. Allergies, however, don't seem to be a factor in the problem I am writing about; everyone in my family and neighbors too can detect and be affected by it.)

I am using a standard washing machine--it never gave us any problems before this happened.

Today I washed a brand new (and therefore before unaffected by the problem), white, 100% cotton  hand towel in a plastic tub in my front yard with water from the hose, with the problem detergent mixed with baking soda, and then dried it in the sun. Despite never having been in contact with the washing machine or dryer, it has picked up the problem from the baking soda/detergent mix alone.

I have washed things in baking soda with other detergents before with no problem; there are even laundry detergents you can buy that have the baking soda already added in for "laundry boosting power".

This is the data I have collected so far. I am in touch with the laundry detergent company, but they are reluctant to deal with the problem. I'm doing all I can on my own because I am not sure when or whether to expect help from their own labs. If they refuse to test the detergent with baking soda, I will do my own testing, get lab results if I can afford them, and present the results to them to request that they post a warning or SOMETHING. If I cannot get this figured out by my own initiative, and they don't help, we'll just end up throwing out everything after giving it some time to see if the problem will fade.

A few more points are that I have purchased new cloth articles and washed them in a laundromat with new detergent (Tide) and no baking soda, and had no problem, until I washed the articles in the washer at home with Tide and no NaHCO3, at which point the articles picked up the problem. Today I attempted to wash these same articles at the laundromat again with Tide and no baking soda, and I will know after sleeping on them whether the problem lingers.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Sarah

ANSWER: Need some more info.  You keep saying "odorless fumes" and "pick up the problem", but you never desribe in detail waht the problem really is.  How do you know "the problem" is there?

I did some research and found that some forms of this detergent actually already contain baking soda.  If the listed ingredients are correct, baking soda should make no chemical difference unless something else is wrong.

In this reply you say

"until I washed the articles in the washer at home with Tide and no NaHCO3, at which point the articles picked up the problem."

That is saying it is either the washer or the water, not the other  detergent.

Also, "white, 100% cotton  hand towel in a plastic tub in my front yard with water from the hose, with the problem detergent mixed with baking soda, and then dried it in the sun. Despite never having been in contact with the washing machine or dryer, it has picked up the problem from the baking soda/detergent mix alone."

This data says it is not the washer, but the detergent or the water.

From both pieces of data, I think it is clearly your water source.  Are you on a well?  You haven't given me that info.  I think you need to have your water tested.  It could be the well (if applicable) or in all cases, your water heater.  You may be drawing off calcium ro iron deposits from the water heater.  It may need draining to get the stuff out of the bottom.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you. Based on your information, I plan to wash a similar, new washcloth in a solution of the detergent, baking soda, and distilled water, rinse in distilled water, dry in the sun, and see if it produces the same result.
The problem is painful irritation of nose, throat, and to a smaller degree eyes when in contact with anything that has had primary or secondary contact with this detergent/baking soda combination.

If I still get the same results with distilled water, I think I can assume that it is the baking soda/detergent combination. To be absolutely sure, I would try other combinations in similar containers and record the results. I'll post that once I do so.

Answer
One other thing to keep in mind in that this bottle of detergent may have sat in a hot warehouse too long or something similar.  To really test this to completeness, you would have to buy another bottle from a different store.

I have to ask this since I didn't to begin with.  We are talking baking soda, not washing soda.  They are two different things.